Los Angeles , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody wants a federal judge to stop DVD sales of a horror movie he filmed two years ago because he 's still owed $ 640,000 by the producers .

`` Giallo , '' filmed in Italy , never made it to the theaters , but DVD sales begin Tuesday , according to the lawsuit Brody filed last week .

A lawyer for Hannibal Pictures , one of the defendants , said the DVD has been in rental stores since September 7 , something he said Brody 's lawyer should already know .

`` He should have gone to Blockbuster and picked it up , '' defense lawyer Martin Barab said .

Brody , who won the best actor Academy Award for `` The Pianist '' in 2003 , has been paid $ 960,000 for his work , Barab said . He acknowledged that the British production company still owes the actor the rest of his $ 1.5 million fee .

Brody 's lawsuit claims he learned after the first week of filming in Italy that producers Richard Rionda and Rafael Primorac had failed to deposit a portion of his fee into an escrow account as required in his contract .

`` In order to induce Brody not to walk off the set , as was his contractual right , Rionda and Primorac represented to Brody that they had new guaranteed funding lined up , and requested Brody to enter into a new superseding agreement , '' the suit said .

The new agreement `` expressly granted the absolute right to withhold consent to the use of his likeness in the picture until he was paid the full amount of the $ 640,000 that he deferred , '' the suit said .

The fee has still not been paid and producers have ignored Brody 's demands to withhold the movie , the suit said .

His lawsuit was filed in a federal court in California `` after repeated and on-going efforts to resolve the matter were rebuffed with excuse after excuse by the producers , '' the suit said .

Barab said Brody 's lawyer has been `` trying to bully people into paying '' since March .

Brody 's agreement specified that the payment would come from the sale of the Italian distribution rights , Barab said . When that $ 2 million deal for that fell through , everyone lost money , he said .

`` He 's not the only one who did n't get his money , '' Barab said .

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Brody claims he 's owed $ 640,000 for filming `` Giallo '' in Italy

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His lawsuit says he was given the right to withhold the film until he is paid

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A lawyer for one defendant says the actor was paid nearly $ 1 million